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Compensation for denied boarding

Lesley Jacques, Turton, near Bolton, writes On August 11, we checked in at Larnaca airport for our 11.45pm flight back to Manchester. As we were waiting to board, disgruntled passengers from a previously delayed flight surged through and demanded to be allowed to fly instead of us.

The local staff said that only passengers who had checked in for our flight could board. A call was made to Monarch in Britain to confirm this decision. However, it appears that Monarch took a different view. To the astonishment of the staff, they were informed that the delayed passengers should board our aircraft instead of us.

This caused an uproar. Staff were in tears. Our bags were taken out of the hold and we were all left behind at the airport.

We were each given a €7 (£5) voucher and at 4.30am told to collect our bags and get on a coach which would take us to the Hilton in Nicosia. We finally left Larnaca at 4pm the following afternoon with an apology from the captain.

I feel that this was a very unprofessional decision by Monarch. I realise that the passengers on the delayed flight were upset, but surely shouting and aggressive behaviour should not be acted upon in this way – and at the expense of others.

Our son and his friend missed their connecting flights to Majorca. Buying new flights cost a total of £674. I have written to Monarch asking for an explanation and compensation. It said it would respond in 21 days but this time has now elapsed.

Gill Charlton, consumer expert, replies This has the air of a perfect storm about it. It appears that the flight due to depart from Larnaca on August 10 was delayed overnight due to a mechanical fault. A new part was sourced but it took more time than expected to fix the problem. This led to the situation where two plane-loads of passengers bound for Manchester were held in the departure lounge, where the decision was made to board only those already delayed for 24 hours.

A few days after writing to us, Mrs Jacques received a reply from Monarch. The airline offered each passenger a £75 voucher plus reimbursement of “any expenses incurred during the delay”. It also asked for details of the new flights her sons had to buy – though no commitment was made to pay for these.

However, it is likely that Mrs Jacques and her party of five are due €400 (£320) per person in denied boarding compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004 (the sum is designed to cover consequential expenses such as missed flights, prepaid hotels and transfers). According to the air industry regulator, the CAA, this is because Monarch actively chose to reassign their seats to other passengers.

The next step is for Mrs Jacques to contact the CAA (020 7453 6888; caa.co.uk) which will take up her case with Monarch. The airline says that it has referred the incident to its legal advisers as it is a complex area currently under review by the European Court of Justice. I will report further on this issue when a final decision is reached.

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About Gill Charlton

Gill is an expert on Cornwall and consumer issues, especially legal disputes.